For weighing equipment in which a partial weight is determined by each of several weighing devices and a sum or difference weight is determined from the individual partial weights, as is the case, for example, in combination scales, there is often the demand, as is also the case for weighing equipment with a single weighing device, for fast and also high-precision determination of the partial weights or the sum or difference weight. However, when weighing equipment with a single weighing device, the measurement result can in particular be made incorrect by deviations in the weight forces acting on the cell, caused, for example, by vibrations or movements of the product to be weighed acting on the weighing device. When weighing equipment with several weighing devices, there is also the problem that the distribution of the total weight of the product on the individual weighing devices changes over time for products moving during the weighing process.
Such weighing devices are often constructed as load cells, which each determine by themselves a (partial) weight acting on them and which output an analog or digital signal corresponding to this weight. Digital load cells, which already output a digital value for the weight in units of weight as an output signal, are also designated as weighing modules.
For known, industrial combination scales, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,422, several sub-scales or load cells are arranged in series one after the other, often with weighing belt conveyors of different lengths, with which the product to be weighed is transported over the load sensor of the load cells. In the interest of the highest possible throughput of products to be weighed, for example, mail packages of different weights, each product to be weighed must be separated, if necessary, and moved at the highest possible, preferably constant speed over the weighing belt conveyors. If the concerned product is so long that it simultaneously lies on several weighing belt conveyors, then the total weight must be determined through the addition of the individual partial weights determined by each load cell. The sum or subtraction can be performed either in a central main controller, to which the individual load cells are connected (e.g., EP 0 319 202 A2), or indirectly in one or more selected load cells, which must then provide a corresponding computing capacity and intelligence (e.g., DE 102 21 628 A1).
In addition to a computational sum or difference formation of the individual partial weights, the total weight of a certain product can also be determined by means of a mechanical lever mechanism, which again loads a single force sensor on the output side (e.g., DE 669 521).
Performing a dynamic weighing process with high accuracy becomes more difficult the faster the product to be weighed is moved over the load sensor of one or more load cells. Accordingly, the measurement value detection must be performed within an ever shorter time span. Here, cases can occur in which a dynamic determination of the weight is no longer possible with sufficient accuracy, for example, for products with irregular geometric dimensions and irregular weight distribution. In this connection, it is known from DE 100 46 205 A1, for the dynamic weighing of products, to increase the throughput or the number of weighing processes per unit of time such that geometric data of the product to be weighed is determined before a weighing process and then a decision is made as to whether the product can (still) be weighed dynamically or whether the transport means for the dynamic scale for determining the weight of the concerned product should be stopped and the weighing process should be performed statically (semi-dynamic weighing of products). This method prevents a dynamic weighing process from being performed first and its failure being detected, because then the product must be transported back and weighed again statically, if necessary.
Instead of transitioning from dynamic to static weighing, the adjustment of the speed of the transport means of dynamic weighing equipment to certain parameters of the product or to the measurement result of the weight determination is also possible (e.g., EP 1 116 941). In principle, however, it is desired to prevent as much as possible any static weighing process and any reduction of the transport speed, because this would drastically reduce the throughput of the weighing equipment.
In addition to the negative effects on measurement accuracy generated on the side of the analog measurement value detection, it has been shown that the measurement accuracy for dynamic weighing of products by means of weighing equipment having two or more load cells, especially in the case of combination scales and multi-point scales, is further reduced by the digitization of the analog measurement value signals and the digital processing of the digital measurement values. This effect increases especially for increasing transport speed for the products to be weighed.
Therefore, the invention is based on the task of creating a weighing device, especially a load cell for a combination scale or multi-point scale, with which weighing equipment can be realized in a simple and economical way, in which several load cells are used for determining the weight of a product to be weighed, and which exhibits improved accuracy in the determination of the total weight of a product to be weighed. In addition, the invention is based on the task of creating such weighing equipment, especially dynamic weighing equipment, which has at least two weighing devices created in this way.